Jack Draper candidly admitted he is “struggling with confidence” in his game after his victory against Novak Djokovic at the 2026 Indian Wells Open.
The world No 14 fought back to clinch a 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(5) win over third-ranked Djokovic in a captivating last 16 showdown at Tennis Paradise.
Draper, who is the defending champion in Indian Wells, was playing only his sixth match since making his comeback from a bone injury in his left arm in February.
Prior to his return in Great Britain’s Davis Cup tie with Norway at the start of last month, Draper had not played a match since he pulled out of the US Open in August.
Speaking to Sky Sports after his first win over 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic, Draper described playing in Indian Wells as a “blessing” after the “hell” of his injury.
“I’m a little bit overwhelmed right now, to be honest,” said the Brit. “Just to be here in Indian Wells, I was saying to the guys in my team last night that, to be here is a blessing after the hell I’ve gone through with the arm injury I had.
“To be out here, to play against Novak, someone I’ve grown up admiring, watching and idolising since I was a kid, and to come through on this stage, it means incredible amounts to me.”
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The 24-year-old then spoke with honesty about a lack of confidence in his game.
“Look, I still feel like I’m struggling to play the way I want to play,” Draper said. “I’m struggling with my confidence in my game a little bit. I’m trying to problem-solve, I’m trying to be more aggressive.
“I think I was quite defensive and waiting for him to miss a lot of the time, and I think in the second and third I picked it up a little bit, I was trying to put more pace on my ball.
“Novak’s someone who’s not just gonna give it to you, so I think I did a good job of just… a lot of willpower, a lot of determination. Hopefully I can get better from here.”
Draper also bluntly described failing to serve the match out at 5-4 in the third set as a “huge choke.”
“Look, it was a huge choke. It was a tough game,” he confessed.
“It went so fast, but then I knew that I was still 5-5, I still had a big opportunity in the match and I had to forget about it and move on and do my best for the tiebreak and just try my hardest every point and compete for every ball like crazy.”
Asked if he was confident he will recover for his quarter-final match against Daniil Medvedev, Draper said: “Yeah, 100%. I’ve been really happy with the way my body’s been holding up.
“Obviously, it’s one thing coming back from injury, but just because you’re on court, it doesn’t mean that your body’s not getting used to the high level of tennis that we’re playing and what we’re putting our bodies through.”
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